Tuesday, 29 April 2014

Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing, which connects Egypt with the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday for two days.

The crossing was opened for humanitarian purposes upon Palestinian requests, Egypt’s state-run television reported.

Barakat Al-Farra, the Palestinian Authority Ambassador to Egypt, said that opening the crossing for two days “came in response to the will of [Palestinian Authority] President Mahmoud Abbas”. Al-Farra thanked Egyptian efforts and the Egyptian General Intelligence for their continuous quest and efforts to “alleviate suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip”.

The last time the border crossing was open for humanitarian cases was a month ago.

Since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July, Egyptian authorities subjected the Rafah border crossing to repeated shutdowns, which continuously lasted for longer stretches of time.
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